good-bye!!

Tomorrow I head off to Italy!! I can't believe it is already here! I won't be posting on here, but I will be emailing as I travel. Let me know if you aren't getting my emails and you would like to. I'll be back at Furman on February 17. So you Furmanites, I will see you then - I love you and will miss you more than you can know! People in Colorado, I will be back February 20 - see you then - I love you too!! And everyone else, I have no idea when I will see you, but not to worry, I love you as well. :)

Arrivederci!

still at home

Well, I am still at home. I started packing today, and so for the next 2 days, I will wear the same outfit that I didn't pack. I still have to write my paper, but I am not concerned. I will get it done. And so I sit at home for a couple more nights, getting more and more anxious about the trip. We are supposed to get some more snow tomorrow night, and it had better not mess up my flight plans. I will have to try to leave early or fly out of a different airport if the snow is too bad, and I just don't need that stress. I am already finding it hard to sleep at night, like I always do when I get anxious. Just a couple more nights and then all this uncertainty about the trip will be made certain....

I love home, but I hate knowing that my friends are all together again at school and I am here. I want to go to Blue Ridge last night and go hiking on Saturday. I know once I get to Italy I will be having the time of my life, but these few days are terrible! I sort of wish I had come back to Furman before flying out of Atlanta.... I will be in the airport all day on Sunday, so feel free to call me before I leave the country! And I hope all of you Furman students had a great first day of class!!! Winter term will be over before you know it, so don't hate those long classes too much!!

Oh, I am really proud of myself because today I replaced the battery in my iPod mini. I bought the battery, it came with all the tools and instructions, and Clayton said that it was ok to try, so I did it!! I was really freaked out while I was doing it, since I have no idea about anything electronic and how it works, I thought I would screw it up for sure. But no! So hopefully this will fix how it dies all the time due to low battery even though it would have charged all night. That is my good news for the day. Oh, and I got a new memory card for my camera, that is my other good news.

I love you all, I really do. :)

2006 in 40 questions

I stole this survey from Andrew, but I really liked it, so I don't care.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
I got a tattoo, I moved into an apartment, I actually said what I was feeling when it mattered the most

2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't really write any down last year, but this year I definitely am. I think it will be important for me to have goals and to stick to them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope

4. Did anyone close to you die? Nope

5. What countries did you visit? Mexico

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
trust, patience, more sleep

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory?
March 17, October17, and one week in November

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I got accepted into the travel study program for Italy. (I leave January 7!)

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not knowing how to communicate with a friend, and I ended up really hurting him. If given the chance, I would definitely do things a little differently.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had various colds and pink eye.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
my purple plates and bowls for my apartment - I LOVE them!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Necole - she has dedicated her life to the unknowns of the mission field, and without holding anything back (and she convinced me to get a tattoo with her, which I thought would never happen)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
appalled AND depressed? I really don't want to mention any names, but there were a few people.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The boring stuff of life, particularly setting up my apartment and just not living at home.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Living on my own (sort of), Italy, all of the potential that I continue to find in my life.

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2006?
"Lessons Learned" - Carrie Underwood (and her whole CD); the songs from American Idol; "My Wish" - Rascal Flatts

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? same
ii. older or wiser? both
iii. thinner or fatter? same
iv. richer or poorer? same, but about to get poorer as I go to Italy to spend all my money

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
studying, spending time with the people that I love; sleeping; spending time with God

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
letting my emotions control me; not trusting God and others

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
of 2007? I think we are going to go to Vancouver to be with my mom's family.

22. Did you fall in love in 2006?
I don't think I fell IN love, but I did learn about love and how risky it is to let yourself love. But eventually I think love is worth the risk, but I'm not there quite yet.

23. How did you start 2006? (Revised Question)
I think I was at home with my family. I really cannot remember at all.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Definitely American Idol and Friends. I am obsessed with both. :)

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yeah, but I don't believe I should hate anyone, so this is a question that I hope I can answer differently next year.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don't know, I reread Blue Like Jazz and it is still one of my top favorite books ever.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Chicago and Journey

28. What did you want and get?

Strangely enough, what I thought I always wanted, I got, but then I didn't want it anymore. I also got accepted to the Italy trip - that was huge.

29. What did you want and not get?

a lot of things

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Nacho Libre; also I rediscovered When Harry Met Sally and that is definitely a favorite now

31. What did you do on your birthday?
My family was in Mexico, so I spent the day touring Mayan pyramids and villages, talking to Mayan children, then back at the hotel we had a nice dinner by the ocean.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
better communication and trust

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Well, I have kind of my own thing going on. I like the preppy look, but I don't buy it all. And Mom said that I am quite postmodern in my tastes; I wear my polo shirt and pearls, but I have a nose ring and tattoo. I don't know, I don't really stand out in my style, I just buy what I like.

34. What kept you sane?
Necole, Mom, Andrew, Annie

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you like the most?
Brad Paisley!! Will Smith and Mike Seaver (not Kirk Cameron)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The whole issue with Pastor Ted, though not completely political, really rocked my entire world view. I've really learned a lot from it and continue to process what it all means and what I should do with it.

37. Who did you miss?
When I am at school, my family. When I am at home, my friends at school. All the time, Necole.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of new people at school, but it was the development of new friendships that really changed me. I came to know Andrew in a kind of round-about way, but for some reason we became friends really quickly. I cannot express how much he has taught me about myself, about relationships, about trust and about seeing life through someone else's eyes. The year started out kind of rough, and Andrew was there, walking me through the times when I felt so lost and just needed to cry and vent. But at the same time, he taught me to loosen up, to broaden my horizons, particularly my knowledge of American pop culture. :) And that to let someone really know me, though terrifying, is worth the risk. We were able to share our lives with each other, and because we had quite different lives, I learned how to see life a different way than I had always seen it. He made me look at myself and work through some things that I didn't even know I needed to work through. And he taught me that just because a situation is difficult or painful, doesn't mean that it has to end poorly - that some of the most important things in life are worth working for, and even if it is really hard, it is possible. Also, my friendship with Evan has really been one of the best. He makes me calm down, to love people and to look at life realistically. Our relationship is one of ease, and we are able to talk about the real things in life, not just beat around the bush. He came to visit me out in Colorado this past summer, and it was definitely the best week of my summer. I count both of these guys as some of my best friends, and these relationships were started in 2006.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Where to start.... I learned that life is never what you expect it to be; that disappointment is inevitable; that only God can change my heart; that relationships are risky and painful, but at the same time add the joy that life needs; that people aren't who you always think they will be; that sometimes peace and quiet is the best thing for you; that crying is amazing; that God never changes, even when your world seems to turn upside down, He remains constant; that life is a journey, not a destination; that I am not in control of my life, that I don't want to be because only God knows what lies ahead and trusting Him with it all is the only peace that I can find.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

And every tear that had to fall from my eyes,
Everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night,
Every change, life has thrown me,
I'm thankful, for every break in my heart,
I'm grateful, for every scar,
Some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned.

- "Lessons Learned" - Carrie Underwood

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

- "My Wish" - Rascal Flatts

Well, that is 2006 summed up in 40 questions. I cannot even begin to imagine what 2007 may hold, but I am ready for it!!